mfg

We live in difficult times…. Thank you for your concern.

Okay, okay boys we get the message…..ENOUGH!!

WOW!…..This is one VERY special Avanti!

Agreed!….Agreed!!

Ah-ha!!….. I was thinking those custom rear skirts on the ‘Due Cento’ were made of metal…. and probably a fairly thick gauge… adding weight over the rear wheels aiding traction, and also preventing ‘oil canning’ at high speed!

I suffered with that same malady in my ‘83 everyday driver Avanti…. Fed up with it and having the ability to do basic bodywork, I purchased a sheet of 1/8” virgin fiberglass and filled the opening in. I left the sliding moonroof intact… leaving it in it’s dropped position, but not rolled back. This gave good support to the new fiberglass roof panel, which I carefully cut & trimmed to fit into the factory roof opening. I then ground the fiberglass down about 4” around the perimeter of the factory opening, tapering it. I did the same around the edge of the new fiberglass panel, and put weights on it to hold it in position. (it’s slightly curved) I then used fiberglass resin and cloth joining the new panel with the factory roof opening….. I then ground that down after it cured… then finished with a skim of body filler, primer and paint. I made this modification on my Avanti about 15 years ago…l have no regrets…. and a dry head!!…….Ed PS…. On the inside I made up a new headliner out of a composite sheet ….from the roll bar cover to the windshield header… and painted it a close match to the interior color (tan)

Paul is exactly correct by answering ‘false’.. However, for what it’s worth, I knew someone who owned a really nice Stude Avanti R2 that made the car a ‘trailer queen’ He removed four (?) springs from the supercharger pressure plate, reasoning that if he never ran the engine up into the ‘boost’ range’, the Paxton supercharger’s drive unit would last indefinitely…. Interesting!

No thoughts on this one?

Sorry Anthony…. not sure how to send PM’s on this forum.

Removing an even number of load springs, which are located inside the pressure plate assembly of a Paxton ‘SN’ supercharger, is an accepted way of lengthening the life of the ball drive unit……True?

As far as modified Studebaker Avantis go, one of the nicest examples I’ve seen was a car modified by a high school auto body/ mechanics class from Rhode Island…. This round lite Stude Avanti had no body mods excepting for a small hood scoop, similar to the one the Granatellis installed on the Due Cento…This Avanti also had a real nice (non stock color) lacquer paint job. Under the hood the students had installed a 389 cubic inch 1965 Pontiac GTO engine, featuring the optional tri carb setup… and a four speed transmission….. All the worked look flawless… it looked like a ‘factory’ installation! Would anyone in the New York/New England area remember this very interesting modified Avanti? It was light green metallic in color)

Thanks!…..I love the look of the aerodynamic panels which the Granatellis installed on ‘Due Cento’…. especially the small hood scoop which looks, I think, quite ‘mean’!! If that Avanti is ever brought out of retirement, I sure hope it’s displayed with all those purposeful Bonneville body modifications!

Anyone know whether the rear fender skirts, which were installed on the Due Cento on some of its Bonneville runs, were fabricated out of fiberglass or metal?

The April ‘24 AOAI Calendar car is truly an outstanding example of a low mileage, unrestored Studebaker Avanti …. and also an ultra rare ‘Avanti Black’ model! As Mr. Rippa indicates, R4175 was displayed at the 1975 Autorama show in Boston… and I was there! I babysat that Avanti during the three day show whenever it’s then owner, my friend Paul Savard, wasn’t there. R4175 sat right beside my 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk at that show… the car which I bought back in 2021, and am presently restoring.

Your welcome!